Just wondering if anyone had some ideas for ceiling mounts or pictures of their mounts. I am planning on mounting my projector from the ceiling. Thing is my ceiling is about 14' high and then slopes down toward the screen. I was would like to hang the projector from the ceiling, but I am not to sure on what I should use. I thought about chains. But then again it might allow the projector to move at times while in use. Any ideas would help. Thanks

Some heavier fan mounts can easily hold up the weight of the finished projector (that ballast is hella dense). They dont even move much. I'd recommend checking into the weight a fan rod can hold then using two of them, front and back. even staggering them so one is long er than the other. One problem i foresee is the ballast making one side of the projector heavier than the other. just a thought...

how about modifying a TV wall mount to use as a ceiling mount? i'm not ceiling mounting mine, i'm building a coffee table around it

Standard mounting for nightclubs and such is typically with chains. Often it is four chains that run down to the corners of a platform, upon which the projector sits... Once the initial motion of the platform stops, you're usually golden, unless someone decides to use it as a swing or something.

How would you deal with the cooling vent on top of the box? Would it make more sense to leave the lcd upright in the projector box, then flip the entire enclosure upside down to mount to the ceiling?

I can see a couple of advantages to this:

1) The 'cool air' intake won't be crowded near the ceiling.
2) Hot air rises, and an upside down enclosure places the 'exhaust fan' near the top and the fresh air intake at the bottom for cooler air.

Any thoughts?

You could position the intake on the bottom, or sides, however since the exhaust blows out the bottom of the back side, it probably would not be much of an issue anyway. Also, if you support a platform from chains and set the projector on it, there would have to be a hole through the platform where the intake is located on the bottom, if that where the chosen place to relocate it to.

Another option would be to have the air intake on the front side.

A similar slotted opening (preferably cantalevered in this case) at the bottom of the front end for the air intake. Then from there leave a small gap above the LCD panel to allow airflow from the bottom front over the top of the lcd, down it's backside and under the fresnels on the bottom of the enclosure, and out the back. That would be the furthest it could be seperated. Also, in this case it would effectively cool both sides of the lcd panel. The only drawback is that the enclosure may need to be slightly taller to allow for a gap above the LCD, AND one below the fresnel, both of which would still need to remain centered on the light and projection lens. Overall this would seem like a viable alternative, albeit slightly more involved for construction.

You could mount it using that flat rigid metal strips that you mount garage door openers with... Just a thought...

I used to work audio video and we had a guy who wanted to be able to hide his projector up close to his ceiling then take it down for shows. I finally came up with the idea of using one of those monitor arms for CRT's ( Think we got it from Cyberguys). It was about 60 pounds but the arm was able to hold it well and it already had the cable areas in it. Might be worth looking into...

Here's a revious thread on this subject. May have some useful info for you.